Having Urolift procedure in 2 weeks - Need help

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I'm 65 years old and in good general health. I've been dealing with my prostate and bph for several years now. It's currently about 40g. Relatively small but still causing me problems urinating. I've learned how to self-cathe and that has kept me out of the ER several times. I'm having the urolift performed because it's supposedly the one procedure that doesn't mess up your sexual function. However, I am real nervous about having this done. I sure would appreciate some words of wisdom from any of you who have been this route. My urologist says he'll give me a shot of demerol and versaid and that should relax me. Then he'll do a prostate block through my rectum. I'm just guessing that sticking a needle into the prostate isn't the most comfortable thing. Then they inject lidocaine into the urethra and a few minutes later do the procedure. I'd really appreciate anyone letting me know this is not going to be as bad as I'm thinking. I don't mind saying, I hate medical procedures. Thanks to all for listening to me rant.

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5 Replies

  • Posted

    Try to let go of the fear. I had an iTind device implanted last year, wore it for 6 days, and they had it removed. I was a bundle of nerves from the anticipation as well as the lack of sleep from getting up so many times at night.

    The anesthesiologist was great. I asked for the least amount of drugs for he shortest period of time. A little versed, propofol and a touch of fentynal did the trick. I closed my eyes and in what seemed like 2 seconds opened them and I was being wheels to recovery I had no pain or memory of the procedure. I can't even say I was in any pain. I was in recovery for about an hour and then was told i could get dressed and go home after I urinated. That stung a bit because the urethra is sore but don;t panic if it happens. Any stinging lasts for maybe 15 seconds. Just relax and breath and know it will not last and go away.

    When they removed it I was fully conscious. Just took a Vallium to relax the pelvic muscles. They inserted a catheter to capture and remove the implant. That "hurt" more than the implant because I was "awake" but again it only lasted 15 seconds. Just relax the muscles and breath. Deep breath and long slow exhale to relax.

    You can do this. Many men have gone through this before you and they all survived the experience. It is far, far worse in your head than in real life. If I had to go through it again it would be a snap. Nothing to it. Not at all like I imagined. Last month I had to go for cataract surgery. Each eye one week apart. I was dead calm because things went so well with the iTind implant. Even the nurses remarked how calm I was given the fear other patients tended to present to them.

    Just trust your doctor and think if the blessed relief you will receive. Life will get better. It did for me and it will for you.

    Peace brother.

  • Posted

    Hi Carl

    I had Urolift done 4 months ago in a surgical center. Drug they gave me for sedation was Propofol. I had 4 of the clips placed. I also had 3 bladder stones 

    Broken up and removed at same time. It took about 1/2 to 45 minutes. Left about an hour after procedure was done. I have noMemory of it at all. I had a catheter for 2 days which I removed at home after the 2nd day.  Catheter was awkward but not painful.  I also did not have much pain either. Tylenol only. 

         My prostate was 69 cc  with moderate symptoms of slow flow and

    difficulty starting flow. Real problem was blood in urine from bladder stones caused by bph. Probably from incomplete emptying of bladder because of Bph. 

    Recovery has been good. Good urinary flow compared to pre op. No leakage

    Or sexual issues. Had a mild uti about 21/2 months after procedure. Not sure

    Why but it was mild and antibiotics took care of it. Get up probably 2 times a night and have gone as long as 5 or 6 hours during day without urinating. 

        Versed and Demerol are also used for

    Sedation. I had it for a couple of colonoscopies and wasn't aware of anything. Also had a local anesthetic block of prostate as well several years ago for a biopsy. It was not bad at all. I was told there aren't many nerves in the wall of the rectum. 

    I'm sure you will do fine. It is not knowing what to expect that scares all of us.  All the best Tom

  • Posted

    I had the Urolift in mid-May.  I was also concerned, but it wasn;t half as bad as I anticipated.  The procedure wasn't even barely uncomfortable.  I'm off all my prostate meds now.  The urge to urinate is much less than before the Urolift, and my urine stream is stronger than it has been for a long time.  I still get up two times at night, and after the third time, I just stay up.  I went to bed about 10:30 last night, and it's 4:30 now...too early!  I'll take a nap later.  You'll find a lot of support on this site.  I'm glad I made the choice for the procedure.  Don't worry too much about it.  Good luck!

  • Posted

    I'm 70 now, had Urolift over 2 years ago.  Well worth it.  Had six thingies inserted...the insertion rig is a one shot gizmo so urologist had to go up my urethra six times.  Lots of blood and peeing at first but not painful and in the long run worth it.  Most immediate result is longer deeper sleep - not having to get up to pee so often (after initial healing).  No longer have to take Flomax so now pee and ejaculate like a teenager.  Getting off Flomax meant my blood pressure went up.  Had to take another med to offset that.  No problem once figured out.  It does take a long time to heal, but no where near as intrusive as the "meat scraping" options.   Only hassle I had was doc's financial crew said insurance covered it.  When the $18K bill went through it was denied.  Urolift staff has attorneys that challenge the insurance companies.  They did and I wound up only paying $1,200 copay which I was more than happy to do in exchange for the greatly improved sleep and reduced trips to the bathroom.  Today I can go hours without having to pee - even on long trips.  And, when I have to hold it, I am able to hold it.  Doc gave me narcotics for the pain after the operation but I never needed to use any.

  • Posted

    I've made an appt for my SECOND Urolift procedure. Age 64 in good health, BPH, large prostate but within range for the procedure. Six months ago I had a Urolift done. Doctor seemed confident even though it's a fairly new procedure. Only last year, very few urologists were referred by Neotract, to perform the procedure. There are a LOT of doctors out there, learning "on the job" and doing their first few patients. A major concern is how many Urolift procedures has your doctor performed? The answer may be "only a few" and my doctor as I recall, said he'd done "several" but it turned out I was maybe his 3rd or 4th one.. The implantation device malfunctioned during my Urolift. Doctor being inexperienced, told me "One implant mis-fired and I had to re-attach one Implant". 36 hours later I experienced an audible POP down there, followed by heavy bleeding. It healed up with no improvement in my blockage!

    Six months later, frustrated, I went to a different Urologist for a second opinon. The only course of action, obviously, was to perform a cystoscopy to examine my channel and try to determine the problem. My second doctor was much more experienced with Urolift, having performed nearly 100 of them. I was awake and watching the probe on video. He carefully examined my entire channel, prostate, and bladder neck. He saw NO evidence of ANY Urolift implants. AS IF the procedure had never been done. I believe the original doctor had successfully done ONE implant. Then the device jammed and he simply fudged the entire procedure. The loud POP 36 hours later, was my 1 implant tearing loose since one isn't enough to hold your prostate open. Bottom Line.... verify that your doctor has performed several dozen Urolift procedures. Call Neotract to confirm this. IF NOT, go elsewhere!

     

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